Halloween Creeps
by Sideshow Cellophane 26
Summary: Human AU. Roderich is just trying to watch his toddler son Feliciano while he tricks or treats, but a seemingly innocent elderly couple have other plans for the young boy...


**Human AU. Implied AusHun with adopted Italy, and a warning of swearing and serious creepers are in place. Happy Halloween~!**

"Twick 'o tweat!" Feliciano proclaimed, holding open his little bag for the candy. The toddler looked very proud of himself in his tiger costume, with a tail and ears to play and tickle his friend Ludwig with.

"Trick or treat," His older brother thrust his bag forward too. He had been adamant about dressing up as a wolf and he went with it dang it.

Roderich was in charge of watching the three of them tonight as Elizabeta handed out candy at their house, a feat usually left up to Roderich. But tonight, it was his duty to wander up and down the decorated street, the designated sweet spot for young children in this neighborhood, and make sure Feliciano didn't get lost or ate all of his candy in one sitting.

Antonio and Gilbert were talking with one another, discussing the important matters of next year's costumes consisting of a tomato and Gilbird for their respective adopted son and little brother. Ludwig was the brother of Gilbert obviously, while Lovino had been adopted by Antonio. The Italian brothers had been separated into different foster homes before being adopted—it was a miracle that their adopted families were close friends.

Roderich and Elizabeta had adopted Feliciano when he was an infant, and Antonio had adopted Lovino when he was a toddler by mere coincidence.

Tonight, Roderich was quiet as he walked with his friends. It was the first time he had taken Feli out to Trick or Treat.

"Hey Roddy," Gilbert snapped the Austrian out of his thoughts, "I think that we're going to bring Luddy and Lovi back to the Jason house, they want those giant Snickers."

"Feliciano is too young to have caramel and peanuts like that…We'll probably keep going around and meet you," Roderich smiled. That street was actually too close to the forest in the back of the neighborhood, it creeped him out.

It creeped everyone out after dark. He wasn't a superstitious man, but before the highway had been built there was seventy acres of forest. Many people went missing in there over the years, and it gave everyone the willies.

"Whatever," Gilbert shrugged and led the others off when Ludwig and Lovino returned.

After another minute, Feliciano came back up to hold his Papa's hand. "Papa! Papa! I got a kissy-kiss!" A Hershey's kiss, he meant.

"How wonderful, darling!" Roderich smiled from how happy the child sounded. It had been this way for a half hour now, with Feli showing off what he got. "Let's go to the next house then. Lovino and Luddy are going to different houses, so it will just be us for a while."

He actually didn't expect to see Gilbert or Antonio (or their respective kids) again that night, considering the Jason house was four blocks down and that street had all of the goodies on it. But, that was fine. Roderich would let Feliciano go for a little bit longer before he ended the night, as it was getting late for a toddler to be up. The Austrian did not expect for anything to happen since there were so many kids and parents around having fun, so he let Feliciano continue to go up to doors alone and ask for candy. He did not expect that, two houses after the group left, he would find himself standing oddly close to a stranger.

"Pleasant night tonight, eh?" An old man, probably a grandfather Roderich thought, commented. He was dressed in a green sweater and red vest, with a baseball cap on.

"Indeed," Roderich replied politely, still watching his son at the front door. "Lots of people are out this year," Of course, it was the first year he had been out with Feli. He wouldn't know otherwise.

"Mhm," The man smiled, revealing two imperfect rows of yellow teeth. "Lots of kids. I'm here with my wife and grandchild, everyone's having fun!"

"Ja," Roderich nodded politely and thought that was that. He didn't care to make small talk.

"What did your kids dress as this year?" The old timer asked.

"Ah," He felt a little odd at that, but figured it was a lonely old man trying to make conversation. "My son is a tiger, I'm Mozart. Minus the wig," He chuckled lightly, and so did the man.

"That one?" He nodded to Feliciano, who was now getting his sweets at the door.

"Mhm. Who is your grandchild dressed as?"

"What?"

"You said that you had a grandchild?"

"Oh, oh. Didn't hear ya. My, ah, Billy is dressed as a ghost."

"Oh…" Roderich looked around. There were no ghosts nearby, except the ghost of his comfortableness.

"Your son is adorable," The man chuckled, squeezed Roderich's bicep in a way that made him feel even more uncomfortable, and turned towards an older woman as Feliciano came up to Roderich.

"Papa!" The boy shrieked happily, holding up his candy prize to show off.

"I see that," Roderich cooed, still on edge. "Put it in your bag so we can go to another house!"

It took him fifteen minutes to know for certain that the old man, and an old woman he could assume to be the wife, had followed their path steadily down the line of houses.

Roderich turned to look at them again as he stood at the end of one driveway and they on the other side, noting that there was no child that could possibly belong to them. Every trick or treater that the Austrian saw, he saw glued to their parents' side or up ringing doorbells and then running back or exchanging comments to one another about their candy. But this couple? No. They were alone. After watching them for a good ten more minutes, he knew it. All that they were doing was pointing to children and whispering to each other, and he was starting to get slightly nervous as more than once their eyes landed on his son…Not to mention how both parties were going down the same street, in the same direction.

With Lovino off with Antonio and Ludwig with his brother Gilbert, Roderich was in charge of watching Feliciano with his life. He suddenly became very aware of how many children there were, and how easily lost one of them could get. How easy it really _could_ be for a neglectful parent to turn their backs for just one moment, and potentially allow their child to run off with the wrong adult. It had happened before in history…

No. Roderich shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets with a sigh. He was overreacting. There wasn't anything wrong, they were just grandparents looking at the commotion. Maybe the old man had lied about having a grandson to hide his embarrassment. Feliciano _was_ pretty adorable, and Roderich knew that several people had turned their heads to look at him on multiple occasions.

But then again, this old couple kept looking at him and whispering. Roderich even got a little closer to them, and stepped behind them when he could, as Feliciano was getting candy at a door. As a fine player of nearly every instrument imaginable, the composer and music teacher could pick up the quietest melody in the noisiest classroom. He had gotten used to tuning instruments over the shouting of unruly elementary schoolers, and hearing a little bit of whispering over the excited shouts of children frolicking in their Halloween spirit wasn't too different.

But it was what was said that sent chills down his spine.

"It would be hard to get past his father," The woman was saying quietly.

After a moment, the husband replied, "He sounds foreign. I'll strike up a conversation with him and get him talking, you take the tiger to the car when he's distracted."

It was his fucking _son_. _Feliciano_ was the tiger.

"What if he screams?"

"Try to get the kid in peacefully, but smack him hard enough to shut him up if he doesn't get in the car. He sounds Italian and those bastards are always fucking loud, he'll deserve it. I'll meet you two near the neighborhood exit. Set the basement up for his visit while I get him ready, it's been years since we did this."

Roderich's blood at first froze at these words, and then boiled. There were simply no words in the human language to describe his change of emotions, but fury and horror was what settled in his stomach as Feliciano thanked the lady for his candy and turned around to look for his father. These people were plotting to take his child, and apparently with force if necessary.

"Where _is_ the father?" The woman asked, looking to the side where Roderich had been previously.

"About to call the police," The Austrian growled, uncharacteristically taking pleasure from their shared jump at the realization of his presence. He shoved past them to pick up Feliciano, who gave him a questioning look, before the Austrian kissed his temple.

"Papa Roddy?" The toddler questioned.

"I think that is enough candy for tonight," He gave the child a stern glance, before his features hardened further towards the retreating couple who had immediately run when they were discovered. "And if you ever see those two again," He shouted above the crowd to make sure the sinister duo heard, "Get an adult or the police!"

This turned several heads, and Roderich squeezed Feliciano closer to his chest as several parents gave the elderly couple questioning, and then accusing, glares.

"P-Papa Roddy?" The toddler in his arms tugged at his shirt collar questioningly, tearing up from the yelling. "What's going on?"

"Uh…" The man suddenly grew awkward. Taking care of their child was Elizabeta's job, and his work required most of his attention. No matter how well he was with his students, he always seemed to screw up with raising one.

He would never admit it again, but until a diaper change five months after adoption he had thought Feli was a girl. The young child loved shades of pink and red, and he had been so overworked, Roderich hadn't connected it until that point. That was a hard, life-changing diaper change.

"Um…Don't cry," He kissed Feliciano's cheek again. "I will let you pack as much candy as you want in your lunch tomorrow if you don't cry!" He offered.

"Why were you yelling?" He sniffled.

Roderich began to walk back to their house now, ignoring some stares of parents still interested in his yelling earlier. He needed to call the police after this conversation. "…There were some bad people who were going to do bad things," He decided to say. "Have we given you the stranger talk yet, Feli?" He even used the boy's nick-name as compared to the usual Feliciano, that had to count for something right?

"Don't talk to strangahs!" The boy nodded solemnly, allowing his toddler accent to come in as he didn't think carefully about what was being said. "But I talk to a stwangah when I ask for candy…"

"Well, that is different," Roderich explained. "It's Halloween, parents and siblings are there to watch you kids," He kissed Feliciano's temple again, the words of the elderly man echoing in his mind of smacking his beloved son if he wouldn't go with the wife quietly. God and the Devil only know what would have happened to the Italian-born toddler had Roderich not listened to their conversation, because Roderich knew that he would have been duped.

He could have easily lost his son, and horrible images of what could have been flashing on the news the next day or within the week would have revealed terrified him. Feliciano was so helpless, he'd trust anybody. And it would have been the Austrian's fault.

"…So old people pwotect me?" The toddler asked, and shook his (heavy) candy bag up and down.

" _Nein kind_ ," His German came out in frustration. "Older people protect those that they love, but that doesn't go for everybody that they don't know. You can't just trust anyone that you do not know, do you understand?" He heard a car engine start up, and had another horrific flash of a dead Feliciano as the husband of the married couple drove down the street quickly. He caught the first three digits of the license plate.

The Austrian set Feliciano down at the next house. "One more house _susse_ , one more. And then we are going home and to bed."

"Okay Papa!" The little boy ran excitedly up the lit house to get one last piece of candy.

And Roderich called the police to report the suspicious behavior and words spoken of the elderly married couple. He gave a description of each person, and was in the process of describing what their car looked like (a forest green Volkswagen Jetta) as Feliciano came back with his candy. He hung up the phone when he was done and was somewhat comforted by the thought of a patrol car going around the neighborhood to keep an eye out for any suspicious behavior, and picked his son back up again. They wanted to send someone out in the morning to question Roderich, but for now they would patrol the area.

"Awe we goin' home, Papa?" Feli yawned and nuzzled into his chest.

"Yes, Feliciano. We are," He grip tightened.

Roderich found himself wanting to keep Feliciano in his and Elizabeta's room tonight, and made a mental note to inform Antonio and Gilbert to keep a close eye on their adopted son and brother too. Feliciano and Lovino may not be raised together, but that didn't mean that they weren't brothers and Roderich didn't hold some regards towards the older brother.

He was getting panicked again, he needed to calm down. So he kissed his beloved child on the forehead.

"Why awe you kissing me so much?" Feli giggled now, so innocent that he couldn't see how upset his father really was.

"Because I don't want to let you think that I am just an old grouch," He smiled and did it again, deciding that spoiling the child just this once—for his own sanity—was alright.

Because thoughts of that old man's words were echoing in his mind over and over again. They would have _hurt_ his baby. Having _fun_ in the _basement_? He prayed that the police found that sick couple.

Once they got home and Roderich and Elizabeta caught each other up on the candy and amount of trick-or-treaters (and one clown that she had used a frying pan on), as well as the police situation, the father got Feliciano situated with bath time as the mother sorted out candy. She was sitting inside of the house, watching children's "horror" movies so Feli wouldn't be affected, and was more than happy to do so as Roderich got the boy settled down for bed.

He had a feeling that she would go out later on with that gun she loved so much looking for the perverts. She would be all over Roderich later for details, he was sure.

So, they were at the current stage of the toddler blowing soapy bubbles in the bathwater as Roderich's shirt got soaking wet and his hair got into his face.

"Bubble!" The boy giggled out, and pointed to the other's shirt. "Wet!"

"Thanks to you," He muttered. "Shut your eyes, it's shampoo time!"

Feliciano did so, and blew a raspberry into the air.

He chuckled a little at this, and lathered the boy's hair. The curl was to be avoided at all costs. The Italian child would throw a fit worthy of Lovino if it was touched or pulled in any way. Once everything was washed out and Feliciano was in a blue onesie, Roderich helped him prepare for everything else necessary for bedtime.

He enjoyed nights like these, getting to bond with his son. Elizabeta usually did everything as he stayed up late grading papers or listening to recordings of scales his students played, and so nights like these were often rare.

"Bedtime!" He declared, and carried the blubbering toddler to his bedroom. Roderich's bedroom, that is.

"Why am I, am I in here?" Feliciano struggled to find his words.

"Because I wanted you to be," He smiled and kissed his forehead. "But only for tonight, do you understand?" Feliciano was normally one to sneak into his parents' bed at night anyway, or suffer from nightmares, so Elizabeta carried him in anyway half the time.

Now, for his fatherly figure to actually carry him into the BIG bedroom and give him permission to sleep in here with his parents, made Feli squeal in delight. "Papa! Papa! Papa!" He chanted in his babyish way.

"I hear you, I hear you," Roderich chuckled and set the boy down gently. "Let me change out of these clothes and then we can . . . snuggle, okay?"

"Ve!" Feliciano squealed, and Roderich gave him his stuffed cat, Tomato.

The older man got up and got his pajamas from his dresser drawer, then went out into the hall to find a bathroom to change in.

Elizabeta rounded the corner and stopped him. "Antonio just called. He saw the car driving down the road they were on an hour ago but didn't know who they were. He and Gilbert are home now too."

"Good," Roderich nodded. "We have to be careful until the police find them, those people were creeps."

"What were they saying about our son?" Elizabeta narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing you need to know tonight, okay? Feliciano is safe, I never took my eyes off of him once," Roderich assured her, and set a hand on her shoulder. "Please. _Bitte_. Wait until tomorrow. I want him to sleep with us tonight, why don't you go in there? He might be lonely."

"I'll go in there, but then I'm going out to find that car!"

"No you aren't."

"I'll start a manhunt!"

"No you won't."

"I'll—"

"Let me change so I can spend time with our son," Roderich shook his head. "The police are on the streets looking right now as we speak, and they'll be over tomorrow morning to take my statement."

It took only a pleading look to make Elizabeta sigh and go into the bedroom to promise Feliciano that she would get ready for bed soon, while Roderich did just that and returned to find the mother and son playing with his stuffed kitty.

Elizabeta smiled and pointed to Roderich. "Papa is going to play with you while I put everything away, alright?"

"Papa!" The boy squealed.

"Always giving me the ball of energy, huh?" The music teacher sat himself down and pulled the covers up to his legs, and Feliciano giggled and sat down in his Papa's lap cooing happily. "You never give him to me when he's sleepy or calm, you always give me the ball of energy!" He looked down at Feliciano with a mischievous smile before digging wiggling fingers into the toddler's sides.

Elizabeta laughed and had to make herself leave as Feliciano squealed and laughed from the tickling. It was an adorable laugh-squeal that few could resist smiling to or laughing alone with, which Roderich began to do . . . And he so rarely laughed, she loved it! She still had to sort through what candy Feliciano could and could not have, and decide whether to throw away some of it or give it to the other kids in their friend group (or keep some for herself…), on top of sorting through the candy she had not given away to the trick-or-treaters.

As she went to do this (and try to forget about the possible abductors of her child), Roderich stopped tickling Feli and gave him a kiss to the forehead.

"I wove you!" The boy giggled.

"I love you too," Roderich promised him.

Tonight had changed his . . . everything. He had always been the stern parent who worked too much, and knew that Elizabeta coddled Feliciano into a mama's boy. He didn't enjoy the fact that he made Feliciano cry when the boy was misbehaving, and he hated that Elizabeta was the first one that Feli went to when he got hurt or when Roderich yelled at him. It was like bad-cop good-cop, and Eliza only ever told her husband that he was being too mean when Feliciano was elsewhere and could not hear them arguing over parenting methods. Roderich had grown up as an orphan, he didn't have anyone to teach him to be a parent besides what he had learned from being a music instructor. He never had enough free time to spend with Feliciano and the boy wasn't old enough to learn how to play instruments, so it was hard to incorporate grading recordings of scales with toddler playtime. Sometimes he wondered if Feliciano really did love him, but then there were moments like tonight when he would realize that it didn't matter.

There were people in the world who could hurt, kill, or do even worse to his baby. There were people who would have distracted him and taken his son, and probably would have gotten away with it had Roderich not listened to their conversation. There were evil people in this world who could and would do harm to his son, and he knew that if Feli had been abducted tonight then Roderich would have spent his lifetime alone with the knowledge that not only did he allow his son to be killed, but that he never loved him in the first place because Roderich was never there often enough.

But now Roderich knew that he had to change that. He _had_ to.

"Do you know how much I love you?" Roderich asked.

"H-how much?" Feliciano looked up at him curiously.

"More than my piano," He picked his son up in his arms and laid down, so Feliciano was lying on his chest. A few kisses were placed over Feli's cheeks before he took off his glasses too. "I don't say it enough, but I love you, Feliciano."

"I wove you too Papa!" Feliciano returned these kisses with wet ones of his own, making even Roderich giggle to himself because it was adorable.

"Now goodnight," He set the glasses on the nightstand and turned off the lamp, leaving a whale nightlight on in the corner of the room that cast a blue light. Feliciano cuddled under his chin with a happy coo and he realized that this may have never happened again. Thankfully (in the instance of being alive), the constant hugs and cuddling would continue well into Feliciano's adulthood.

If one good thing came out of this night, it was that Roderich made the decision to be more involved in his family's lives. He would take breaks from grading to play with Feliciano, and be less strict on the lad. He fell asleep with Feli on his chest, something Elizabeta found precious and took a few pictures of when she came in.

The police took a statement in the morning. Another family had called in and reported an elderly couple described exactly as Roderich had tried to take their son later in the night, and were stopped when the father saw the old woman leading his boy into their car. The wife tried to say that the son was lost and she was trying to help, but it was a weak story and the two drove away quickly. Officers did not find the elderly couple, but they did ask Roderich and the father of the other family to see if they recognized the two from a pile of photos. They found one match, and found out the husband had been convicted on underage rape charges and was a registered sex offender.

He had raped two underage boys and done prison time for many years before release. The police found the car abandoned in the back of the neighborhood near the forest between the neighborhood and the highway. It was a stolen car and the two were suspected of running into the woods to try and make it to that highway, a full nine acres of dark forest away.

The car was found abandoned as described before in the morning, meaning they left it there at night and tried to run. There was a manhunt that took place in those woods, and about thirty yards in officers found the pedophile husband's vest. One sleeve was torn on the thicket surrounding it, and a few fabric strands were found a few yards away on a bush, but that was all they found. No blood, no bodies, no _footprints_ , no anything. Just the vest and fabric strands, possibly from the wife's shirt. It was as though they were running for their very lives and did not stop. How could somebody's vest and torn fabric reach thirty yards into a wood at night without leaving footprints or traces of DNA?

Roderich and Elizabeta were very careful and loving towards Feliciano from that point on, because not all stories have a happy ending in reality. The pedophiles were never found. It could mean that they escaped to the highway and hitchhiked their way to another fate and life, or it could mean that whatever was in the woods that night gave its own justice to the registered pedophiles. There were no footprints, after all.

Both options are equally terrifying in a world of the unknown. Happy Halloween.


End file.
